Processes involving the enzymatic hydrolysis of starch to form monosaccharides, disaccharides, trisaccharides, and oligosaccharides are commonly known to the skilled food artisan. U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,150 issued to Fritze et al. entitled Process For Producing a Foodstuff of Cereal teaches a process to saccharify the starch contained in the cereal to form dextrose by enzymatic degradation of the starch in the cereal grain. In this enzymatic process, all the cereal substances, both those containing starch and those not containing starch are treated together. The foodstuff produced according to this invention is claimed to have a good flavor and the dextrose content thereof is absorbed directly as sugar by the body. While such a process will saccharify the starch content of the cereal grain it is difficult to produce a cereal dough of sufficient functionality because the starch which has been saccharified is no longer present in a sufficient quantity to provide the typical matrix forming properties contributed by the endosperm.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,282,319 issued to Conrad, teaches a process for preparing in situ, enzymatically hydrolyzed protein and starch products from whole grain comprising crushing the grain, enzymatically treating the crushed grain with first an endopeptidase to transform substantially all water-soluble proteins to peptides and subjecting the remainder of the crushed grain to a starch enzymatic hydrolysis and preferably separating out the bran upon completion of the aforementioned treatments.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,289,416 issued to Fine, et al. teaches a process for preparing a cereal from whole grain comprising rupturing the bran coat of the kernels, gelatinizing the starch and then treating the gelatinized starch with a starch splitting enzyme to convert the majority of the starch to dextrins and sugars. After the treatment has been completed (in approximately 2 hours at 60.degree.-70.degree. C.) the converted grain is heated to inactivate the enzyme, dried, tempered and processed to produce a toasted product in flaked, shredded or other desired form.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to hydrolyze polysaccharides and starches present in the cereal grain to effect substantial sweetness in the final cereal product. Another object of the present invention is a process to obtain a self-sweetened food product especially a ready-to-eat breakfast cereal without the addition of sugars.
It is also an object of the present invention to increase the moisture absorption, organoleptic qualities, palatability and texture forming properties of the bran component of the cereal grain to replace the matrix forming properties of the endosperm lost as a result of the in situ conversion of starch. In a like manner, the protein component present within the germ fraction of the whole grain, after functional modification, is utilized in the present invention to matrix the grain syrup which results from the saccharification of starch.
It is an additional object of the present invention to supply a ready-to-eat cereal product containing an increased level of dietary fiber, as compared to typical breakfast cereals.